Strand or cord working mechanism



Oct. 19 1926. 1,603,778

F. s. KocHENDoRFr-:R ET AL y STRAND 0R CORD WORKING MECHANISM Original Filed July 31, 1920 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 iM/7M.

'Och 19 1926. 1,603,778

F. 5. KCHENDORFER ET AL STRAND OR CORD WORKING MECHANISM Original Filed July 31, -1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Get. 19, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ucr..

FREDERIC S. KOCHENDORFER, OF RIVER FOREST, AND JOHN N. SELVIG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A SSIGNORS TO W'ESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW' YORK.

STRAND OIt CORD WORKING- MECIIANISM.

Original application filed July 31, 1920, Serial No. 400,301.

This invention relates to a cord or strand working mechanism which has for its principal object the provision of a mechanism by means of which flat tinsel strands of small cross-sectional area and of uniform size may be rapidly and economically produced, and more particularly to such a mechanism employing rolls for producing the tinsel strands.

The primary object of the present invention is;t to evenly distribute the wear on the tinsel rollers and to cool and clean the rollers during their operation. To this end a mechanism is provided for causing the wire, which is flattened by the rollers to formflat tinsel strands, to traverse the surfaces of the rollers to prevent grooving on their faces and thereby evenly distribute wear thereon. Means are also provided for supplying a cooling medium, preferably air under pressure, to the faces of the rollers for cooling and cleaning them during their operation.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 400,301, filed July 81, 1920, now Patent 1,520,718, issued December .30, 1924, which discloses a strand or cord working mechanism to which the invention disclosed herein is particularly adapted. p

1n the drawings illustratingthis invention:

Fig. l is a fragmentary front view of a tinsel rolling machine showing one unit of a machine embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the mechanism for causing the wire to traverse the faces of the rollers and for supplying air under pressure thereto;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view showing the means for clamping the distributing pipe onto the air supply tube, and

Fig. 4 is a front view of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the driving mechanism for the supply and take-up spools,` rollers, and a mechanism for causing the wire 'to traverse the faces of the rollers.

As shown in the drawings, with the exception of Fig. 1, the machine frame has been omitted except as a mounting means for parts concerned in this invention. In its preferred form` the machine is provided with a number of independent rolling units, half Divided and this application led March Serial No. 623,204.

of which are mounted on each side of the machine frame.

Each complete rolling unit comprises three sub-units-a supply spool unit 10, a rolling unit 11, and a take-up spool unit 12. rFliese sub-units are mounted independently of each other in such a way that any one of them can be removed without disturbing` the others. As best shown in Fig. 5, each complete unit is driven from a common drive shaft running the length of the machine and driven from a motor through suitable intermediate gearing. Mounted on the shaft 50 at spaced intervalsv are gears such as 51, one for each complete unit, each of which meshes with a gear 52 mounted on a shaft 8 which drives the roller sub-unit 11. Mounted on the shaft 13 intermediate its ends is a gear 53 which meshes with a gear 54 to drive a vertical shaft which at its ends carries gears 56 and 57 for driving the supply and take-up spool units 10 and 12 respectively.

rllhe wire 15'is fed from the under side of a power driven supply spool 16 to a roller 17 on the end of a tension lever arm 18 located above the spool 16. After nassing over the roller 17, the wire passes down between the rollers 5 of the rolling unit 11 and is rolled into tinsel at a constant speed. The tinsel 20 then passes down and under a roller 21 on the end of a second tension lever arm 22 to a take-up spool 28.

For a complete disclosure of the mechanism for driving the rolls, supply and takeup spools, together with the tension mechanism for controlling the speed of the supply and take-up spools, reference is made to our co-pending application above referred to.

The mechanism for causing the wire to traverse the surface of the rollers to more evenly distribute the wear thereon and for supplying air under pressure to the faces of the rollers to cool and clean them is illustrated in Fig. 2. This mechanism comprises a vertically disposed shaft 24 carrying on its lower end a gear 58 meshing with a gear 59 fastened upon themain drive shaft 50, the said shaft 24 carrying at its upper end a worm 26 which drives a worm gear 27. The worm gear 27 is fixed to a shaft 28 on which is fixed a heart-shaped cam 29. Mounted above the rolling units and running` the full length kof the machine is a rotatable air tube 30 having` distributing pipes 32 leading therefrom and down to a point above the centerr and between each pair of rollers. The end of the `distributing pipe is flattened except `in the center where smallsopening is left Vfor the escape of air under pressure onto the faces of the rollers which cools and cleans them. @n 1the flattened end of the distributing pipe 82 and on each side of the air outlet 33 is fixed a pin 3st. rIhe wire 15 is threaded between these pins 3a. Fastened to the air tube 30 is a roller arm which carries at one end a rol-ler 36 which engages the face of thecam Q9. A spring 38 rfastened to the arm 35 keeps 'the -roller 36 in engagement with ^the face of the cam 29. The movement of the cam Q9 gives to the .distributing` pipe 32 a slow oscillating motion which serves to guide the wire as it is being rolled back and forth over the face of the rollers, thereby evenly distributing the wear and preventing grooves thereon.

IVhat -is claimed is:

l. In a rolling machine, a kpair of flattening'rollers, means for feedinga strand between said rollers, and means for moving` the strand across the faces of the rollers to cause said faces to wear evenly. y

2. 'In a rollingmachine` a pair of flattening rollers. means for feeding` a strand between said lrollers, and means for moving the strand back and forth across the faces of the rollers to cause 'said faces to wear evenly.

3. rIn a rolling machine, a pair of flattening rollers, means for feeding a strand be- -to clean and cool said rollers.

5. In a rolling mechanism, a pair of flat- .tening` rollers, an air pipe adapted to discharge air vacross the faces of said rollers, and means for reciprocating said air pipe.

6. In a rolling machine, a pair of flattening rollers, means for feedingl a strand between said rollers, and unitari7 means for moving` said strand across the faces of said rollers and discharging air across the faces of said rollers.

7. In .a rolling,` machine, a ypair of flattening` rollers, means for feeding a strand between said rollers, means for advancing said strand across thev faces of said rollers and means for discharging air across the faces of said rollers.

8. In a rolling` mechanism, a pair of flattening rollers, an air discharge pipe openingadjacent the faces of said rollers, means for reciprocating1 the open end of said pipe back and forth across the faces of said rollers, means for feeding a strand between said rollers, and guiding,r means carried by said pipe to reciprocate the strand back and forth across the faces of said rollers.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 23rd da),7 of February A. D., 1.923.

FREDERIC S. KOCHENDORFER.

JOHN N. SELVIG. 

